


tell me how to love

by jo1



Category: JO1 (Japan Band), Produce 101 (Japan TV)
Genre: Domestic Fluff, Established Relationship, Fluff, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Mornings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-15
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-03-02 01:01:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,523
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23626552
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/jo1/pseuds/jo1
Summary: "I didn't realise it at first. I'd been in love with you for so long, that it just became a part of me. Loving you was like — like breathing, to me. I didn't know how to live without doing it."
Relationships: Inoue Minato/Kono Junki
Comments: 4
Kudos: 8





	tell me how to love

**Author's Note:**

> title is from Day6's 'How to Love'
> 
> twitter: @bffsei

_Cute_.

This was a sight that Minato had been waking up to for nearly two years now, but it never failed to take his breath away. Because next to him in bed, in all his glory, was Junki - his eyes shut, hair messy, lips slightly parted. Minato couldn't help but stare. 

If you went back in time and told two-years-ago Minato that he would end up with someone like Junki, he'd probably laugh in your face. After all, this was the boy he'd grown up next door to, the boy who he had caught bugs with, watched terrible anime with, gushed about cute girls (and boys) with. They'd been inseparable as soon as Minato could start walking, going through elementary, middle, high school and even university without ever once leaving each other's side. The pair's mothers often joked that Minato had been born prematurely just so that he could spend more time with Junki. Minato rolled his eyes whenever they brought it up, but it always made Junki laugh. 

The first time he realised there was probably something more between them was when Junki, aged 22, pulled Minato aside at a college party and whispered in his ear:

"Tomorrow. At 8. I'll pick you up."

Minato raised an eyebrow, oblivious. "Okay, no need to be so serious. Where are we going?"

"On a date," Junki grinned. "You can't say no." 

As the couple neared the two-year mark, Minato found himself frequently thinking back to that party. How Junki's eyes were both hard with determination, yet soft with fear of rejection. How after asking, he fiddled with this fingers, afraid to meet Minato's gaze. How, when Minato smiled and said yes, Junki's shoulders slumped with relief, and he returned the smile with one of his own. How, later, Junki laughed and claimed it was the best decision he'd ever made, and Minato couldn't help but agree.

From then on, the pair remained inseparable, but in a different way. Minato was still Junki's plus one to every work event, but now they held hands under the table as they talked and laughed with Junki's colleagues. They still went out for meals with their mutual friends, but Junki wouldn't stare at anyone else with love in his eyes, and Minato wouldn't smile at anyone else's laugh. Minato began accompanying Junki to the comic book store, and Junki soon started to pick up new nail polish bottles for Minato any time he saw a pretty colour. A part of them was always thinking about the other.

Junki had always been the more creative one in the relationship. Every time they hit a new month in their relationship, Junki took Minato's breath away with something new. On their one month anniversary, he tried giving Minato a manicure (it was terrible, but it didn't matter). For their six months, he rented out a movie theatre so they could binge-watch all of Minato's favourite anime. To celebrate their first year together, Junki took them both to Disneyland, later admitting that he'd taken on several night shifts at work so that he could afford express pass tickets. 

Minato looked over at the calendar on the nightstand. They were two days away from celebrating their two-year anniversary, and Minato was determined not to lose to Junki. Time and time again, Junki assured Minato he loved every gift the younger boy had gotten him, but he knew deep down he was still falling short - there is an _evident_ difference between a gift voucher and a personalised manicure, after all. 

Holding his breath, Minato opened a drawer in his nightstand, pulling out a small, black box. The countless nights spent tossing and turning as he tried to think of the best anniversary gift had accumulated in this: a ring, one that would tie him to Junki forever. It was a simple ring, a thin silver band with a small diamond in the middle, meant to look like a flower. 

The challenge wasn't proposing - Junki had brought up marriage several times, and so he had no doubt that the older boy would accept. What Minato couldn't figure out was _how_ exactly he was meant to do it. Did he have to take him to a fancy dinner first? Custom encouraged it, but Junki hated dressing up formally. Would he have to decorate the apartment with rose petals instead? If Junki found out he had spent thousands of yen on roses only to tear them apart and throw them across the floor, Minato was sure his boyfriend would begin panicking over the money wasted.

Minato sighed, fiddling with the black box. He wanted, more than anything, to make Junki feel like for once _he_ was the one being taken care of, rather than the other way around. He wanted to catch the older boy off guard, to see his face light up with surprise and happiness, the way it had back when Minato had first said yes to him. On their first date, Minato had pointed out this smile to Junki, who laughed and shrugged. _You surprised me_ , he had said, grinning. _I wasn't sure you'd say yes so easily, I guess. It... made me happy to see you be spontaneous like that._

Suddenly, Minato sat up in bed, eyes wide with realisation. The answer had been in front of him the whole time - spontaneity! All he had to do was propose in the spur of the moment, and he was sure it would make Junki smile. The problem was, though, that with their anniversary coming up and Junki knowing him so well, his boyfriend would probably figure it out before Minato even got the chance to ask. 

Although, he couldn't figure it out if he was, you know, _not conscious_.

Minato looked over at his sleeping boyfriend, who was now facing him in his sleep, curled in a fetal position, then back at the ring box. His hands were clearly visible and evidently ring-less. Taking a deep breath, Minato pulled out the ring and gently pulled Junki's hand into his. The other shifted slightly, frowning for a bit, and Minato's heart pounded in his chest until the frown eased and Junki's sleep continued as normal.

It was now or never. Minato lifted Junki's ring finger, screwed his eyes shut, then slid the ring on the finger. Then —

Nothing. It was silent.

It was silent for a second. Then another. And another. When Minato opened an eye, he found Junki was still asleep, his chest rising and falling just as it had been before. Frustrated, Minato ran a hand through his hair, trying to figure out what to do next — maybe he could shake him a little? Or maybe this was a sign that he shouldn't have proposed? His mother often went on about the universe speaking to people — was this the universe speaking to him? Was he meant to never marry Junki? Or was he meant to never _be_ with him in the first place?

 _No, that's stupid,_ Minato consoled himself, taking a deep breath to calm himself down. Either way, the plan had failed — Junki hadn't woken up with the ring on his finger, so all that was really left for Minato to do was to take the ring off and try again later.

Sighing to himself, Minato reached for Junki's hand again, ready to pull the ring off. He gently nudged at it once, then frowned. _No, it can't be._ He shook his head, then readied himself to pry it off again, using the slightest bit of extra force, only for the ring to remain stubbornly in place.

Minato could feel himself edging toward a full-blown panic. He looked around the room, trying to see if there was anything that could help him ease the ring off. Unfortunately, apart from a small alarm clock, the nightstands were bare, and going to the kitchen for oil would mean getting up, which would definitely wake Junki and create the _exact_ situation he was trying to avoid. 

"You have _got_ to be kidding me," Minato muttered to himself, and — maybe this was the universe's idea of a practical joke — that was exactly when Junki began to stir. Minato watched, paralysed, as his boyfriend rubbed his eyes, the ring glinting in the sunlight that snuck through the gaps in the curtains. _Motherfucker._

"Morning," Minato's heart was in his throat. He attempted a smile. "Did you sleep okay?"

"Yeah, thanks." Junki nodded, bringing his hands back down to his lap. Noticing the way his boyfriend's gaze diligently followed the movement, he frowned, looking down. "Is there something wrong with — _Oh."_

"Surprise?"

"Minato," Junki said slowly, transfixed by the diamond on him. "What is this?'

Minato shrugged. "No prizes for guessing." 

The two were silent and Junki bit at the inside of the cheek, turning his hand around to get a better look at the ring. "What. The. Hell." He breathed, finally bringing his gaze up to meet Minato's. 

"Our anniversary is coming up." Minato rubbed the back of his neck, attempting to ease his nervousness. "I wanted to do something nice for you, I guess. Because you're _always_ outdoing me with gifts, so I thought, what can I do that Junki can't top?" Noticing Junki's unchanging expression of shock, Minato smiled a little. "A proposal that even he wouldn't see coming."

"I definitely didn't see _this_ coming," Junki mumbled, looking down at the ring again. His face softened for a split second, before breaking out into a massive grin. "But you're missing a big step, you know?"

With that, Minato's heart plummeted into his stomach. Just like he'd thought, his plan had crashed and burned to the ground. "What?"

Junki, seeing his boyfriend's pained expression, laughed. "Usually, people _ask_ first." 

_Oh, right._ "Okay," Minato nodded, watching as Junki readjusted on the bed, crossing his legs and resting his head in his palms. "Here goes."

"If I don't cry, you have to do it again."

"Shut up," Minato mumbled, going red, and Junki laughed. "Junki. I've known you for 25 years —"

"— 24, actually. You haven't turned 25 yet."

"Can you let me do this?"

"Oh, yeah, sorry."

"I've known you for _24_ years." Minato rolled his eyes, and Junki smiled. "And I can say, without even a shadow of a doubt, that I've loved you for every single one of those years."

Junki's smile fell, replacing itself with an awestruck expression. "Minato."

"I didn't realise it at first. I'd been in love with you for so long, that it just became a part of me. Loving you was like — like breathing, to me. I didn't know how to live without doing it." Minato took a deep breath, looking down at his hands. "When you asked me out, that's when it all fell into place. That's when I realised that I'd gone about my love for you all wrong, because from the second you held my hand and kissed me, I couldn't believe we'd gone so long before without doing it." 

"Since then, I've found so many new ways to love you." Minato smiled a little, shaking his head. "I love you when you kiss me, I love you when you cook for me, I love you when you tell me about your day. I love you when you smile, I love you when you cry, I love you even when you're yelling at me for not unloading the dishwasher. I love you because I can't _stop_ loving you, because if I stopped loving you, I'd — I'd lose myself, Junki."

"You make me happier than anyone else, you know? You make me want to be a better person, you make me want to be the _best_ person ever, just for you." Minato bit his lip, hoping Junki couldn't see the tears creep into his eyes. "I know I'm not there yet, but just even in these last two years, I've grown so much, and it's all because of you. If I've had even a quarter of the impact you've had on me, then I can die happy because you — you're my everything, Junki."

Junki sniffed a little, furiously rubbing at his eyes. "You're my everything too, Minato."

"What I'm trying to say is," Minato took another deep breath, reaching forward to grab Junki's hand, lacing their fingers together. "So far, I've been with you every time you've been happy, you've been sad, angry, scared — whatever it is, I've been there. And I've loved it. I've loved being there for you, Junki, because I love _you._ I love you, and I wanna keep being there for you. So, Kono Junki, will you —?"

"Yes," Junki interrupted, voice barely above a whisper. 

Minato raised an eyebrow. "I haven't even asked yet. It's one sentence, Junki."

"I don't care," Junki shook his head, launching himself at his boyfriend — _fiancé —_ as they both fell back onto the bed. "That was _everything_ I could have asked for and more. Who knew you could be so cheesy?"

At that, Minato frowned, looking away. "Shut up. I won't do it again."

Laughing, Junki held Minato's face in his hands. He kissed him once, and again, and again until neither of them could tell where one of them ended and the other began. "You're incredible, Minato."

Minato raised a hand to absentmindedly run it through Junki's hair. "Yeah, well. You should see you, then."

"I'm serious," Junki frowned, and Minato's breath caught in his throat as he stared up at the other boy. "You're incredible. You did this for me, and it — it's perfect. You're so good at making me feel loved, Minato. I don't deserve you."

"Don't say that," Minato muttered, embarrassed. "You deserve everything good. If I can do anything to get you closer to that, I'll do it."

"I love you," Junki grinned like his face was about to split open. "I love you so much."

Minato let Junki roll off of him back onto the bed, then laced their fingers together. He squeezed it once, then again, and he knew that Junki understood. Junki pulled Minato into him, letting the younger boy rest on his shoulder, and the two lay in comfortable silence as they faced the reality that soon, they were going to get _married._

"Hm?" Minato mumbled, rubbing his eyes, when Junki tapped him on the shoulder.

"Next year, on our anniversary. At 8. I'll pick you up."

At that, Minato frowned, confused. "You're planning that far ahead? Where are we going?"

"To get married," Junki laughed, pulling Minato closer to him. "You can't say no." 

"You can't pull a half proposal right after I've proposed to you," the younger huffed, but he was smiling. "Why so late, though?"

"For planning, of course." Junki shrugged, staring at his ring again. "If — _When_ I get married to you, it has to be the absolute _best_ wedding ever. Which it will be, given that it's with you, but that doesn't mean we can't have pretty flowers."

"Pretty flowers?"

"I was thinking white roses. Classy, yet fun."

"And you called _me_ cheesy," Minato scoffed, but he pressed his forehead against the other's. "But it's a date."


End file.
